Belladonna (Mana)
Belladonna is a major villainess in the video game Trials of Mana. She is an extremely powerful Demon Lady from the Underworld of Mavolia (the Mana counterpart of Hell), the right-hand woman of the Dark Majesty and the archenemy of the ninja thief Hawkeye, one of the six playable characters. Another Demon Lady named Isabella, exactly similar albeit far less evil, appears in the game Sword of Mana. Characteristics Belladonna is a demonic being who can turn into a humanoid-cat, most-likely her true form. Her exact nature remains unknown though. Whether a demonic beast who can pose as a human, once human who sold her soul to gain demonic power, or a witch who can assume a beastly aspect is never explained, but the former is the most likely. Among the right-hands, she is the only truly demonic and the only one purely evil, the other two being corrupted or brainwashed. Yet, her unrequited love for the Dark Majesty can also make the heroes somehow sympathize for her. When he is not around, she instantly gives up and returns her hostages. While cold, regal, cruel, ruthless, taunting and revelling in her foes' plight, she is genuinely courteous and she dearly loves her liege, striving to "open his shuttered closed heart a little". She has incredible magic powers, being able to fly, to teleport, to shape-shift, to mind control people; and displays a vast mastery of magic and access to a wide array of spells, mostly Moon-based. But contrary to the other two seconds-in-command she favours physical fighting and status-altering magic over attack spells. Under her true form, she displays tremendous speed, spryness, agility and strength, being able to perform impressive acrobatics. She can also turn into a small cat when using magic. She has enormous influence in Mavolia, commands demons and monsters and has access to legendary relics. Helped by the Vampire Lord Malocchio, she took possession of the Dark Castle, ready to bring back her liege. Game Introduction Posing as a human witch called Isabella, Belladonna came to the Nevarl Desert and worked her way to become advisor to Flamekhan, lord of the local Thieves' Guild. Flamekhan's ninja thieves used to steal from the rich to give to the poor, in a Robin Hood fashion. Alas, she brainwashed him and used his military might for her own purpose. She had him hoard the stolen goods to build a kingdom of his own, and used the Guild to invade the Wind Kingdom of Laurent. One night, Flamekhan's foster son Hawkeye, and his best friend, Flamekhan's son Eagle, eavesdropped on "Isabella" and Malocchio and learned her true motives. They barged in to arrest her, but she magically compelled Eagle to kill Hawkeye. Hawkeye only knocked his friend out, but Belladonna finished him off with a Fireball spell. She framed Hawkeye and threw him in jail, scheduling his execution. Worse, she forced Jessica, Eagle's sister and Hawkeye's love interest, to wear a cursed necklace called the Choker of Death, which would strangle her to death if he were to tell anyone or if "Isabella" were to die. Niccolo, Hawkeye's cat-man friend broke him out of jail and helped him flee Nevarl, and he vowed to avenge Eagle and save his guild from "Isabella". Belladonna brainwashed the twin ninjas Bill and Ben, sending them infiltrate the royal castle of Laurent. They "befriended" the child prince Elliot and tricked him into disabling the magic winds protecting the kingdom, so as to invade it. Later, she killed King Joster and had the ninjas kidnap Elliot. Malocchio later brings him to the Dark Castle after the Dark Majesty's spirit chooses him as his new vessel. Distraught Riesz, (Lise) the Amazon Princess of Laurent, set out to save her little brother. ''Trials of Mana'' Belladonna drops her alias and sets out to unseal the Mana Stones and free the Benevodons. However, the other Great Evils of the world of Fa'Diel (the Dragon Lord and the Masked Mage) also share this goal. The heroes meet her in the throne room after freeing Laurent, but she teleports away, reminding Hawkeye what he risks if he is among them. She later frees Jessica from the Choker to sacrifice her to the Mana Stone of Fire, threatening to drop her in a volcano when the heroes enter the fray, but Niccolo saves her. As such, she sacrifices Bill and Ben instead. The heroes frees the city-port of Palo from the Nevarl ninjas, and gain access to the Mana Sanctuary where the Mana Tree, earthly avatar of the Mana Goddess is located. At the same time, one of the Great Evil's faction destroys the other two. If the Dark Majesty is not the final boss, his remains are destroyed, forever barring him from the Earthly Plane. Driven to despair, Belladonna kills Malocchio and releases Elliot, before telling the heroes what happened and killing herself out of despair. If the Dark Majesty is the primary villain, Belladonna and Malocchio bring him back from Mavolia and he and his servants attack and destroy his rivals' lairs. Belladonna goes to the Mana Sanctuary, where the heroes got the legendary Sword of Mana. She abducts their Faerie guide and demands the Sword for her freedom. The heroes reluctantly obey, and Malocchio releases the Benevodons, but gets harmed by the Sword's Holy Power. Belladonna heals her accomplice and bends the Sword to their will. They then teleport away and unleash their armies of monsters all over Fa'Diel. The heroes track down the eight Benevodons, to destroy them before they can gather. Later, they enter the Dark Cave and kill Malocchio, before storming the Dark Castle. They eventually reach Belladonna, who reveals her cat-like form and prepares to get rid of them, but she is ultimately defeated. Before dying, Belladonna explains the Dark Majesty's past and her desire to open his heart, hinting her love for him, though he dismisses her death as an afterthought. Boss Battle The battle against Belladonna is considerably long and difficult. She is at level 51, even higher than the final bosses, and has 40878 life-points, far surpassing her fellow right-hands. She is very powerful and dangerous, so the highest caution is advised. She fights with claw swipes and jumping blows, including her deadliest attack Rose Slash which strikes all heroes at once, but also uses the very powerful divine summon Hexas and Moon spells. Lunatic and Half Eclipse reduce the heroes' maximum life points, Change Form shrinks them and must be cured, Energy Ball boosts her attack and Moon Sabre heals her when she lands a physical blow. Fortunately, she seldom uses Hexas and Moon Sabre. She is weak to Water/Ice, so every corresponding attack must be unleashed and weapons must be infused with it. The heroes must beware, for she violently counterattacks every high-leveled technique. They must decrease all her stats and increase their own with all the spells and items they have. The heroes must be very careful and never remain close more than necessary. When she transforms into a kitten, she must be harassed without end as she mostly uses magic under this form. If she were to cast Moon Sabre, it must be dispelled at any cost. ''Rise of Mana'' Belladonna, the Crimson Wizard and Goremand make cameo appearances in the mobile phone game Rise of Mana. They serve both as bosses and allies assisting the heroes, even against themselves. They can be faced individually or all together. This game features two protagonists from warring species of the Spirit Realm, the divine Rasta and demonic Daruka, who are sent to the physical planes sharing a body and forced to cooperate. In the end, everything is revealed as a successful plot of the Mana Goddess to bring peace between the two species. Belladonna is fought as "Isabella", flanked by two powerful ninja monsters. She floats over the ground, hurls cat-shaped purple energy blasts, sends small green and orange clouds in different directions, and causes a rain of blue and green energy balls. The ninjas wield huge swords, jump to strike and hurl bouncing fireballs. She is very powerful and very resilient, so the heroes must harass her as much as can be while minding her servants. When fighting with the other two, they form a hugely dangerous team unleashing long-range and close-range combos. The player must be very careful and dodge and counterattack rather than rushing blindly. ''Sword of Mana'' Another Isabella exactly similar to Belladonna appears in this remake of the first Mana game Final Fantasy Adventure. While there are chronological links tying Dawn of Mana, Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana and Trials of Mana, most games were stated by the developers to take place in distinct continuities. Isabella bears no ill-will towards mankind and is cordial to the heroes. (Demons are neutral in this game.) Isabella is friend with the Vampire Lord Count Lee (perhaps a nod to Belladonna and Malocchio), but dislikes his being settled in Fa'Diel. Also, she seems to have known the Demon Queen Medusa and her human lover Lord Granz. Isabella first meets the heroes in an inn, and later at Count Lee's palace of Vinquette Hall. The Count is trying to put the main heroin Helena in suspended animation, as he promised Granz to protect the Mana Tribe from evil forces. Isabella disapproves her goal, which is ultimately thwarted by main hero Duke. She later falls in love with the Dark Lord and becomes one of his major vassals. (Contrary to Belladonna's unrequited love, the Dark Lord reciprocates her feelings.) She steals the Mana Pendant from the main heroin Elena. Upon meeting the heroes again, she threatens to attack them if they enter the Dark Lord's castle, but she is never fought, and even lets the Dark Lord fight the heroes alone (though she objects). After the Dark Lord is killed by the reluctant heroes, Goremand's counterpart appears to devour his soul and steal the pendant. Enraged and grieving, Isabella reverts to her cat-like true form and attacks him in a rage, but he manages to escape... albeit not forever. ''Circle of Mana'' Like nearly every character of the Mana series, both Belladonna and her Sword of Mana counterpart Isabella are playable in the card-based role-playing game Circle of Mana, under both their human and cat demon aspects. Each character is played as cards to save the Mana Tree from monsters, and can gain power, equipment and Class Changes. Several cards featuring her are available, each evolving following a distinct path. ''Lord of Vermilion III'' Belladonna, the Crimson Wizard and Goremand make cameo appearances in the crossover arcade strategy game Lord of Vermilion III, featuring collectible cards and battles in open space while controlling units, consisting in characters from many Square Enix games. They serve as powerful units who fight with their spells from the game. Trivia *Belladonna is named after a beautiful but dangerous poisonous plant, referring to the beauty of her human aspect which she uses to hide her deadly nature and intentions. *For many years, she was known as Bigieu in the unofficial fan-translation, a possible misspelling of "Biju" (Japanese for "beautiful beast", referencing her true form) or "bijou" (French for "jewel"). 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